A new PCR test for the monkeypox virus is already available the the World Health Organization has ordered member states to start reporting back with results.
The WHO has released interim guidance for laboratory testing for the monkeypox virus and has ordered member states to immediately notify the WHO to report any positive cases.
Meanwhile Moderna, always ready to cash in on an opportunity, has announced it is performing pre-clinical trials for a monkeypox vaccine.
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Moderna announced its plans for a new money-spinning vaccine on Twitter, just five days after the virus was first detected in Massachusetts.
MSN report: Moderna provided no details about its monkeypox vaccine program beyond saying that it is at a “preclinical” stage of development. A spokesperson for the company said additional details may be disclosed later this week.
As of Tuesday, there was one confirmed and four suspected cases of monkeypox in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the virus, which spreads through close contact, has recently been detected in at least 15 other countries, mostly in Europe.
It is unclear how large the outbreaks will grow. President Biden said Sunday that the virus “is something that everybody should be concerned about.” On Monday, he added that the United States should have enough vaccines “to deal with the likelihood of a problem.”
Novo Nordisk, a large pharma company headquartered in Denmark, makes a vaccine called Jynneos, which is approved for smallpox and monkeypox in the United States. The CDC said Monday that the US has more than 1,000 of those shots in the nation’s Strategic National Stockpile, which it will start distributing to at-risk individuals. The government expects to receive more shots from Novo Nordisk in the coming weeks.
The country also has more than 100 million doses of an older shot, called ACAM2000, which is designed to prevent smallpox but could also be used to prevent monkeypox — a related but typically less contagious and less deadly disease.
